


your kisses may be a beautiful art

by sporadichearttcollector



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Arranged Marriage, Art, Eventual Smut, Fake Dating, Happy Ending, Kissing, Lance is a prince, Lots of kissing, M/M, Not so eventual jerking off, OCs for Lance's Family, Royalty AU, Sign Language, Trans Female Pidge, Underage - Freeform, although its not actually ever mentioned, i guess, its pretty gay, just in case, just pining, klance, klance bb 2k17, mild shallura, one of lance's siblings is deaf, shiro's arm being cut off is mentioned, teensy bit of gore, zero angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-04
Updated: 2017-11-04
Packaged: 2019-01-26 13:51:47
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,646
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12558788
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sporadichearttcollector/pseuds/sporadichearttcollector
Summary: “Keith!” He spun on his heel and walked closer till he was directly in front of the mullet-bearing boy. Lance dropped to his knees. “Pretend to be in love with me!”Pidge burst out laughing, keeling over. Hunk quickly followed. Lance didn’t spare them a glance. “No Keith listen it’s perfect! You pretend-we pretend to be in love, my father falls for it because he’s a sappy loser, and I get out of this stupid arranged marriage!” Keith raised an eyebrow, violet eyes glinting.“And what’s in it for me?” He cocked his head a little, lips pursed.“I’ll pay you ten times what you’re getting right now.” Keith gulped. “And you’ll have to go to a bunch of fancy dinners with amazing food and you can bring Shiro!” Lance held his hands in front of him, clasped. “Keith, please.”





	your kisses may be a beautiful art

“I won’t do it! I _refuse!_ ” Lance shouted as he stomped out of his father’s office. He stormed down the hall, infuriated. “Pidge! Give the guards incorrect instructions when they ask where I am.” He hissed to one of the cameras that watched him constantly. Taking a sharp left, he slipped into one of the castle’s many secret passages, going straight to the kitchen. Lance needed some _pastelitos_ immediately. He came out of the dark hall right in front of the kitchen, snagging his cape on the door.

 

Cursing, he unlatched the neck clasp, ripping it off and dumping the stupid thing on a chair. It quickly slid to the floor where he ignored it’s presence, leaving the pile of purple silk laying there. Yanking open the fridge, he grabbed the platter of already made food and pushed three of the large pastries onto a smaller plate. The prince practically threw the plate into the microwave and made a low noise of frustration. He paced as he waited, a sigh of relief passing his lips when the blessed ding of hot food sounded.

 

“Lance, you wanna tell me what’s wrong?” Pidge asked through the intercom. He groaned and sat at the table, taking a large piece of a _pastelito_ on a fork and shoveling it into his mouth.

 

“No-Just… Ugh. Just let me be for a bit, please?” His head drooped. “Dad’s gonna be really pissed at me when he finds me.”

 

“You realize he’s the king right? If he asks me where you are it’s a _crime_ to not tell him.” She tried to joke a little.

 

“He loves you and would never fire you, or have you put in prison. Plus just pretend you’re on break and don’t answer.”

 

“He’s asking me _right now, Lance!_ ” She hissed.

 

“Just don’t answer! Please, Pidge. I can’t do this right now.” He begged.

 

“Oh, alright. When I get thrown in jail, just know it’s your fault.” She turned off her mic and silently prayed that she wouldn't get in trouble.

 

Lance went right back to shoveling his face with food and muttering spanish expletives. A gasp sounded behind him and Lance almost cried in frustration.

 

“Those are for the prince! You can’t eat them! You could be killed!” Lance turned his head to see a boy, probably his age, with a look of horror upon his face. Was that... _A mullet?_

 

Lance burst out laughing, because despite his entire horrible day, here was a cute boy, and he had a _mullet._ The laughing quickly became sobbing, and the words just started pouring out of him, about his dad and the marriage and the unfairness of it all. The boy had sat down at the table and was listening, really listening. He had a look of concern on his face and nodded at the appropriate times. Lance noticed his tired eyes and hollow cheeks, and his stomach clenched in sadness at the sight, but his soft, reassuring smile was enough for Lance to keep talking, if only to keep it there.

 

Then, halfway through a sentence about the unfairness of it all with large and dramatic gestures, faster than Lance could see, the boy had sunk to the ground his forehead merely inches from the ground and was babbling out a mass of apologies.

 

“Your highness, I’m so sorry! I should have bowed when I entered; I should have recognized you! I’m so–” Lance cut him off.

 

“It’s fine! Get up! Please, I’m not finished whining.”

 

“You’re not– wait, what?” The boy looked up at him, baffled. Lance tugged at his arm, pulling him into the seat.

 

“I’m. Not. Done. Whining.” Lance flushed a bit, looking down. “Sorry, it’s just…Hardly anyone ever just listens to me like this.” Mullet boy gave a gentle nod and smiled.

 

“Well, keep going then.” He sat back, waiting. Lance smiled and continued. Finally, almost an hour later the prince decided it was time to face his father.

 

“Thank you so much for listening to me ramble,” Lance murmured, as he washed off his plate and wrote a note on the fridge whiteboard with his compliments to the castle's chef.

 

The boy got this little smile, a genuine and tender show of friendliness.

 

“It’s no problem, your Highness. I was just being polite.” Lance’s heart fumbled a bit, and he resisted the urge to clutch at his chest. “It’s the least I can do for my future king.”

 

Lance set his plate and fork in the dishwasher and stood, wiping his hands on the towel under the sink. “Have a good day– oh, shit– sorry!” He corrected himself. “Shoot, wait, I didn’t catch your name!” His high cheekbones were dusted with pink as he scratched the back of his neck.

 

“Keith.” His voice was soft, and he had that little smile on his lips, and Lance nearly sighed out of happiness.

 

“Keith. Have a good day.” The prince grinned. “Also! You can just call me Lance, no need to use the formal address.”

 

“Alright, Your Highness.” He teased.  “You have a good day too, hope you get the whole marriage thing figured out.” Lance nodded and gave a little wave. He turned and walked out of the kitchen before looking to one of the camera’s.

 

“Where’s Dad?” He asked Pidge.

 

“Throne room,” was her short and clipped reply. Lance winced, knowing she’d probably been thoroughly chewed out.

 

“Sorry…” He groans and starts toward what was going to be a very long lecture.

 

~

 

Keith was on his way out of the kitchen when he saw a pile of fabric on the floor. Picking it up, he saw the jagged rip in what must be Lance’s cape. With a soft smile, he folded it over his arm and left the room.

 

(Later that night, the cape was found, repaired and cleaned, sitting on the foot of Lance’s bed with a note. _You forgot this– K)_

 

**~**

 

Weeks later, Lance returned to the kitchen. He’d been down several times since his first encounter with Keith, whom Lance was becoming fast friends with, and he had been lucky enough to see the mullet-bearing boy each time. Lance never did mention the fixed cape he’d found on his bed the night after their first encounter.

 

They’d talked about their pasts, what the future might hold, and their current situations. Lance had learned Keith was working here to support himself and his older brother, Shiro, who had lost an arm in an accident at his work but had received no compensation.

 

He learned that Keith was terrified Shiro wasn’t going to recover and would lose his life to infection from the butchered stump left. He was still paying off the medical bills from the single trip to a hospital that had saved Shiro’s life.

 

Keith had learned about Lance’s siblings and his few friends and the fact that he was trilingual. Lance had revealed that he was unsure if he was fit to be King, and that he wasn’t sure he ever wanted to take the throne. He’d even asked about the mullet.

 

Heavy guilt ensued when the only response was a soft, “I can’t afford a haircut…” Lance had resisted the urge to throw riches at the boy, only quietly telling Pidge to have Keith’s pay raised minutely, so he wouldn’t know Lance had done it.

 

Lance was replaying the sound of Keith’s voice in his head when he walked into the kitchen, only to see said person backed against a counter with a older man screeching at him and far too close for comfort.

 

“I’ll have you fired!” He shoved Keith a bit, and his back hit the edge of the countertop. He was a heavy set man, with far too much neck and a bright red face with a very prominent and thick mustache resting on his upper lip. He was wearing the uniform of an upper level servant. “I’ll make sure no one ever hires you again!”

 

Lance had had enough. “Excuse me, what’s going on here?” He asked with an accusatory tone.

 

“Who the hell do you–” The supervisor spun around, spraying spit all over the counter. Lance made a face and simply held up his right hand, where an elegant ring of blue stones that made up a small crown shape wrapped around his slim finger. The fat man stopped short, cutting himself off before falling to his knees and throwing his hands on the floor, pressing his forehead to the cool tile. “My sincerest apologies, Your Highness!” he blubbered. Stealing a glance up at Keith, who had remained standing, the man hissed, ‘ _Bow! This is your future king!’_

 

“Hey, Lance…” Keith chewed on his lip, his face flushing.

 

“You okay man? Why’s this guy yellin’ at you?” He held out a hand to help Keith out of the corner he’d been shoved into. The man on the floor paled at the casual touch between the two.

 

“Shiro’s having a really bad day. So I asked to go home a little early to take care of him, and my supervisor here said, in a much more colorful way, that I would not be going home early; I’d be staying late, and I would be losing today’s pay.” Keith’s face went a deep red. “I can’t afford to lose today’s pay, Lance. I can barely afford the bills as is…” Lance nodded, quickly making a decision.

 

“Hey, Pidge?” he spoke, tilting his head towards a camera.

 

“Sup?” her voice rang through the intercom.

 

“I want this supervisor fired.” The old man’s head snapped up to look at Lance, horror decorating his flushed face. “And Keith gets the rest of today off, along with as many days as he needs at home with Shiro.” Keith’s eyes widened. “Paid time off, and for today he gets three times his usual.” Lance paused to hush Keith’s protests. “When he gets back I want him serving as my personal servant.” He grinned at the dumbfound expression on Keith’s face. “Bring Shiro up when you do come back, I want my personal doctor to look at him.” He rolled his eyes as Keith began to shake his head.

 

“No, Lance, that’s too much, I can’t accept. You can’t do that, it’s too much.” He continued to shake his head and put up his hands. “It’s too nice. And probably an abuse of your power.”

 

“I’m the prince, Keith, and I can do pretty much whatever I want.” He smirked, locking eyes with Keith. “Try and stop me, Mullet.” Keith’s jaw dropped, and he gently smacked Lance’s shoulder with the palm of his hand.

 

“Don’t be a shit. You’re being too kind…” Lance rolled his eyes.

 

“I just want to be able to annoy you more often.” He shrugged. Now it was Keith’s turn to roll his eyes. “Send in the guard to escort Mr. Rude-Ass here out please!” Lance called over his shoulder to Pidge. Maybe five seconds passed before an armed guard entered the large kitchen, awaiting orders. He had dropped to one knee, and a hand over his heart. “Rise. Have this man,” Lance motioned at the blubbering man on the ground. “removed from my castle. He is to never return.”

 

Lance nudged him with his foot. “Get up. And get out.” He spoke with utter disdain, taking a step back. He knocked into Keith, who held his shoulders to steady him.

 

“Be careful, jeez you almost knocked me into the trashcan,” Keith grumbled.

 

“Sorry, was trying to get home.” Lance snickered; grinning as Keith snorted then lost it and burst into laughter, grabbing at Lance’s shoulder to hold himself up as he clutched at his stomach. Lance went weak at the knees, butterflies rising from the pit of his abdomen, rising to his chest, and hitting his face with heat. He kept laughing, bending over as his laughs went silent and he gasped for breath.

 

The guard had quietly escorted the fired servant out and left them alone to grin at each other.

 

They were there for quite a while.

 

**~**

 

“–And you must take this twice a day. Very important.” Lance’s personal doctor, Matt, patted a bottle of pills he had in his hand. “I’ll write this all down so you don’t forget.” Lance and Keith watched as the doctor wrote the instructions on a notepad, before ripping it off and stuffing it in the bag with all the medicine Shiro was to take.

 

“Thank you so much for this…” Keith murmured to Lance, eyes staying on his brother.

 

“It’s no problem man.” Lance shook his head gently. “Really, you listen to me complain like twice a week. It’s the least I can do.” Keith gave him a grateful look. Their eyes shifted back to Shiro as the doctor finished and turned to them.

 

“Well, Your Highness, it was definitely close to getting an infection.” He paused, taking in the horrified look on Keith’s face. “However, these antibiotics should stop that in its tracks, and help him heal faster.” Lance heard the sigh of relief slip from Keith’s lips and gave one of his own. Matt left and Lance turned to Keith.

 

“By the way! About the whole personal servant thing, all you’re really gonna do is listen to me whine and get me food occasionally.” Lance chewed on his lip, waiting for Keith’s reaction.

 

“Are you serious?” Keith asked incredulously.

 

“Completely. How else do you think I make friends?” Seeing the exasperation on the boys face, he added, “Don’t judge me! I’m the prince, I’m pretty sure it’s illegal.” Keith rolled his eyes.

 

“Keith?” Shiro called from where he was sitting. “How exactly did you manage to befriend the _prince_?” His eyes flickered from Keith to Lance and then back. He started to scoot off the examination table and tried to lower to the ground on one knee. A pained sound escaped him and the boys rushed forward to pull him back up.

 

“You are injured! Why would you think that it’s a good idea to meet formalities right now!” Lance hissed, fear in his eyes. He definitely didn’t want Shiro hurt worse on his account. Keith nodded beside him.

 

“I get that it’s respectful, but trust me– after a few weeks knowing him you realize he doesn’t need it!” Keith assured his brother. Lance raised an eyebrow.

 

“Okay, rude!” He stuck his tongue out, and Keith rolled his eyes.

 

“See?” Keith gestured.

 

“New rule, by royal decree!” Lance put his hands on his hips. “You, Shiro, are not required to do the bowing or the kneeling when in presence of a royal, not including my father, until you are fully recovered. And even then, you only have to do it for my Mamá and Father.” He nodded to himself. “Keith, same rules apply. No one but my parents.” His eyes flicked between the two people.

 

“Your Highness…” Shiro began.

 

“None of that either! Just call me Lance.” He waved his arms. “Really, I’m just a kid. Hell, I should be calling you sir!” Shiro pursed his lips but nodded.

 

Keith smiled at Lance, crinkling his nose a bit. Lance returned the gesture. The doctor returned and ushered Shiro into another room, claiming something about wanting to check one more thing. A door opened behind them and Lance turned to see his best friends, Pidge and Hunk.

 

“You know, Lance, I’m actually kind of offended this is the first time I’m meeting Keith.” Pidge skipped any greetings and got straight to the point. “Even Hunk’s met him.” Lance looked at Keith.

 

“You’ve met Hunk?” He was surprised, clearly unaware of that occurrence.

 

“Yeah, in the hall once or twice…” Keith ducks his head, mildly uncomfortable with the spotlight.

 

“Lance, I spend most of my time stalking you. I was bound to bump into him eventually.” _And interrogate him about his intentions with you._ Lance groaned and gave him a look saying, _you didn’t!_

 

Hunk just rolled his eyes. Pidge moved forward, holding a hand out to Keith.

 

“I’m Pidge. My job is to watch everyone day and night with _minimal breaks_ ,” She shot a playfully angry look at Lance, “And make sure His Highness over there doesn’t get into any trouble.” Lance rolled his eyes and stuck out his tongue. Pidge repeated the sentiment. “As much as I would love to say I was just out on a walk with Hunk, we’re actually here to retrieve Lance. Princess Allura is here.” Lance made an embarrassingly high sound and hid behind Keith.

 

“Don’t let them take me!” He hissed, peering over the slightly shorter boy’s shoulder.

 

“Lance, please, she’s waiting and your dad, _the King,_ will be pissed if you don’t get your ass over there.” Pidge glared little fireballs at Lance, who shook his head.

 

“I don’t want to go! She’ll want to discuss the wedding! _I don’t even want there to be a wedding!_ ” He almost shrieked. “That’s why you brought Hunk! To force me!” Lance gave a dirty look. He took a deep breath, running his hands through his hair and pacing. A dozen different scenarios ran through his head. Anything to get out of this. Then, it hit him.

 

“Keith!” He spun on his heel and walked closer till he was directly in front of the mullet-bearing boy. Lance dropped to his knees. “Pretend to be in love with me!”

 

Pidge burst out laughing, keeling over. Hunk quickly followed. Lance didn’t spare them a glance. “No, Keith, listen it’s perfect! You pretend- _we_ pretend to be in love, my father falls for it because he’s a sappy loser, and I get out of this stupid arranged marriage!” Keith raised an eyebrow, violet eyes glinting.

 

“And what’s in it for me?” He cocked his head a little, lips pursed.

 

“I’ll pay you ten times what you’re getting right now.” Keith gulped. “And you’ll have to go to a bunch of fancy dinners with _amazing_ food and you can bring Shiro!” Lance held his hands in front of him, clasped. “Keith, _please_.”

 

~

 

“So yeah, Dad, I’m in love with Keith. I want to marry him, eventually.” Lance explains, with an emphasis on the _eventually,_ to his father, who had that judgey, one eyebrow raised look as if saying ‘Oh really now?’

 

“You’re sure of this.” King Sebastian crosses his arms over his chest.

 

“Highly.” Lance nods, gently taking hold of Keith’s hand and squeezing. His heart did a little jump when he got a squeeze back.

 

“And you?” The King turns to Keith. “You’re in love with my son?”

 

“Yessir, Your Majesty.” Keith purses his lips, making terrifying eye contact with Lance’s father, the _fucking King_.

 

“Are you afraid, _Keith_ ?” Sebastian McClain says his name like he owns it, owns Keith as a person. Which, as Keith quickly realizes, _he totally does._

 

“Only highly, your Majesty.” Keith curses mentally when his voice cracks.

 

“And why might that be?”

 

“Because you’re the King, and also Lance’s father and you’re very intimidating.”

 

“Understandable.” He turns to Lance with a huff. “I don’t know how, but we’ll get you out of the marriage. If, and _only_ if, you can prove to me this isn’t just a farce to get out of it.” Lance nodded enthusiastically. He turned to Keith, grinning. His heart spluttered and Lance leaned in before he realized what he was doing. Keith seemed to understand because he raised up on his toes, bringing their lips together. Lance grabbed at his hips and pulled the boy closer, wanting to deepen the kiss. Wanting to shove Keith against a wall, and leave little bruises and hickeys all over his stupidly pretty pale skin. _Wait, what?_

 

Lance didn’t have time to panic because a throaty little sound came from a few feet away and the boys pulled apart, mildly embarrassed and very flushed. Lance looked at his father, _is that delight in his eyes?_ He wondered. _Weird._

 

“Sorry, Dad…” He murmured, eyes never leaving Keith’s. Lance’s father rolled his eyes and patted the top of his son’s head.

 

“Where’s your crown, child?” His deep voice rumbled. Lance groaned and swatted at his father's hand.

 

“Father please, I’ve asked you not to call me that!” He whined, smoothing out his hair. Any little touches could offset the effort put into keeping his usually curly and unruly mess of hair straight and flat on his head. “I wasn’t planning on anyone important being here today so I didn’t wear it.” His thin fingers itched for a mirror to check his hair. “It’s not exactly comfortable.” Lance heard a quiet, breathy giggle from beside him and whipped his head around to see Keith with his hand over his mouth, suppressing laughter.

 

“It is a crime punishable by _death_ to laugh at a royal!” He hissed at the boy, who promptly lost it and let loose the laughter that brought him to tears and had him gasping for breath. Lance’s face softened and he smiled gently at Keith, eyes full of fondness. Lance _adored_ making Keith laugh because the sound and his grin always brought this swelling feeling of pure happiness to Lance’s heart, and it skipped a beat as his breathing stuttered.

 

“Lance, please go find the princess and explain the situation while I think of how I’m going to tell the woman I was supposed to marry that my son will _not_ be marrying her daughter. After I promised he would.” Lance lost all composure and threw his arms around his father, stunning the man.

 

“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” He squealed, as he gave the King the first hug he’d received from his eldest son in ten years before remembering himself and taking a step back. Lance dropped into a low bow, and in his most princely voice said, “My most sincere thanks, Father.” Before standing and grabbing Keith’s hand, a comforting gesture, and squeezed once, twice then pulled him out of the room.

 

They strode down the hallway, headed towards the guest area of the palace to tell Allura that he would most definitely _not_ be marrying her. As they rounded a corner, Lance saw the princess and was hit with what must have been the best excuse to kiss Keith again in the world. He yanked the boy back, pushing him gently against the wall and taking one sweet, blissful moment to watch the flush spread across those sculpted cheeks before explaining his plan. It was simple, really. They would make out and Allura would come around the corner, seeing, and understand that Lance very much did not want her at all; and then he would have a much easier time explaining why they were not having the extravagant wedding she had been planning since the announcement of their engagement.

 

He hardly waited for approval before pressing against Keith, slotting their lips together and grabbing those lovely hips, fingers gripping tight enough to leave bruises. Keith responded by sliding his fingers through Lance’s hair, gripping tight, and for once he didn’t care if it got messed up. He didn’t care if the curly mess was released, in front of everyone, as long as Keith stayed exactly where he was; sharp hip bones pressing into Lance’s and fingers tugging him closer, closer. Tongues diving into the opposite mouth until they had to pull back, just barely, to breathe. Lance took this as an opportunity to slide his mouth down to that pale, perfect neck. His teeth had barely grazed the pale skin, his lips pulled back after sucking it hard into his mouth, when the princess Allura strode around the corner. It was to Keith’s surprise that she was joined by Shiro, who was already feeling much better.

 

Shiro’s eyes had widened, although not as much as Allura’s, as he spluttered, “Keith!? What- _how?_ ” His face was almost as red as Keith’s. Lance pulled back, hazy eyes sliding to look at the two spectators.

 

His voice was high, breathy. “Shit, Allura-Your Highness…” He bent slightly at the waist, a obligatory bow. The princess dropped into a curtsey without thinking, mouth gaping at the sight before her. “Erm… This is Keith.” He decided to be straight to the point. “I’m in love with him, which is why I cannot marry you.”

 

Surprisingly, she seemed to brighten. Like a weight was lifted off of her shoulders, a smile spread across her face. “Oh, thank goodness! Not that you aren’t a fine person, but I have no interest in marrying you.” Lance’s eyebrow raised, a bit of a grin hinting on his lips. “None at all! I’ve always been opposed to the idea of arranged marriages!”

 

“As have I,” Lance agreed, a hand sliding behind his body to reach for Keith’s. He felt the hard, work-worn skin against his and relaxed more. Keith peaked around Lance.

 

“Shiro, why are you with Her Highness?” He murmured to his brother. It was Shiro’s turn to blush. He rubbed the back of his neck as he stammered out an explanation.

“I bumped into the princess by accident, I was looking for you and got lost…” He looked at Lance and sighed. “Your castle is huge, Your Hi- _Lance_.” The prince smiled at the correction, and nodded a bit. Keith felt a bit guilty for having left Shiro in the doctor’s exam room in favor of lying about his feelings to Lance’s dad. Shiro must have come to find him so they could go home. But it didn’t quite seem that he wanted to go now…

 

“I remember when I was young and wandered off from my maids. It took hours to find me, I had managed to walk all the way to the royal treasury.” His face was soft with the happiness of the memory. He felt Keith’s fingers intertwine with his own and looked over at him with a smile. A pang of guilt him him, and he wished this was real. That they weren’t pretending to be in love, and they had been caught kissing because they were so preoccupied with memorizing the feeling of one another’s lips. But Lance couldn’t deny the want he had for Keith, the growing passion he felt for the boy. His heart ached at the thought of this façade ending, of not getting to hold Keith’s hand whenever he wished. Lance’s mind quickly went to when exactly he could kiss him again, coming up with scenario’s and excuses to have him close again. After a few more minutes with the Princess and Shiro, they set off in opposite ways. The prince and his man to a very large bedroom, while the princess and her companion were off to a large common room to speak more.

 

~

 

“You know we should probably practice…” Lance looked over at Keith through his eyelashes. They were in his room, laying on the bed with swollen lips and hammering hearts.

 

“You're gonna have to be more specific than that.” Keith didn’t bother looking over at Lance. His mind was replaying the kisses they’d just shared, so he wasn’t exactly paying attention to Lance.

 

“Don’t be an asshole.” The prince rolled his eyes and sighed. “Kissing.” He spoke the word softly, his brain mimicking Keith’s.

 

“Wait, what?” Keith snapped out of his day dream and sat up, turning his whole body to look at Lance, violet meeting azure. “Did you really just say what I think you did?”

 

“We should practice kissing.” Lance pushed himself up onto his elbows, then shifted to his hands,  and turned to face Keith. “We’re gonna have to do it a lot if we’re acting like we’re in love, so we should practice. Gotta make it look like we’ve done it a lot, you know?” Keith swallowed and unconsciously swiped his tongue over his lips.

 

“You’re really good at coming up with these horrible ideas aren’t you?” Keith felt his face flush and ducked his head.

 

“Fuck off,” he muttered before noticing the red dusting Keith’s face. “I-I mean we don’t have to if you’re uncomfortable, I just figured it’d be a good idea.” Lance spewed out the words, shaking his head a bit. Pressuring Keith was the last thing he wanted to do.

 

“No, no, it’s fine. We should.” Keith’s eyes flickered up as he watched the brunette scoot a bit closer.

 

“You sure?” Lance asked. “Better not be saying yes just because I'm royalty.”

 

“No you dolt, it’s not because you're royalty. It’s because we’re friends.”

 

Lance nodded. A hand pressed against Keith’s cheek and his eyes slid shut. Soft lips followed a hand wrapping around his waist. He felt heat surging from Lance’s touch and leaned forward, sliding one hand into Lance’s hair and the other down his back. Keith was practically in Lance’s lap but neither cared. A slight gasp slipped from Keith when Lance paid special attention to his bottom lip, tugging the soft, swollen flesh between his teeth. Tongues clashed and Keith’s dove into Lance's mouth rubbing along the roof with soft strokes.

 

Lance made a high pitched noise, almost a whimper, and tugged Keith against him and fully into his lap, legs straddling his hips. Keith had both his hands in Lance’s hair, fingers tugging on the soft locks. They broke off for air, panting like they’d just ran a mile and stared at each other.

 

“You’re really good at that.” Lance croaked, and Keith noticed the delicious flush on his cheeks. Keith nearly groaned at the thought. ‘ _Bad idea, very bad idea, this is all going to end, don’t let feelings get involved,’_ he thought desperately, trying to push back the warmth in his chest. Outwardly, he snorted and climbed off of Lance with an internal whine.

 

“I think we’re good. People will definitely think we’ve done… whatever _that_ was a lot.” He pretended to wipe at an eyelash to feign indifference. Lance just nodded and flopped backwards, somehow as graceful as ever, and let his eyes slide shut.

 

Keith was sure he had imagined the prince reaching to his face and brushing a finger over where their lips had met.

 

~

 

Once Keith had left for the night, Lance lay in his lavish bed with his hands covering his hot face. He couldn’t stop imagining the feeling of Keith’s soft lips against his own, those strong thighs pressing against his hips, and his fingers tight in Lance’s hair. The little noises he had made, and _coño_ the feeling of his skin against Lance’s…

 

Lance shook his head and groaned, sitting up. He glared at the growing tent in his pants and squeezed his eyes shut, trying to will the arousal away with thoughts of dead animals and naked old ladies.

 

“ _I am not going to jerk off to the thought of him, I’m not doing it, nope!”_ Lance breathed deeply, standing on wobbly feet and stumbling to the bathroom while trying to rearrange the source of his annoyance. “ _I’ll just take a cold shower.”_

 

He really did plan on taking a cold shower, but as soon as the chilled water hit his back Lance squealed and jumped out of the spray, pressing his chest to the opposite wall. “Guess I’m taking a warm shower…” He muttered and maneuvered around the freezing water, turning the knob to his usual temperature. With a shiver he timidly shuffled back under the spray and glowered at his erection. He rubbed his hands roughly on his thighs, dangerously close to his throbbing cock.

 

“I’m not doing this, _I’m not doing this!”_ He shook his head.

 

Lance let out a hiss when his thumb brushed his shaft, his toes curling and whole body tensing. He let out an annoyed sigh of defeat and leaned against the wall, eyes fluttering shut. He didn’t even bother trying to resist imagining Keith in place of his hand, wrapping those pretty lips around his dick. Lance let out a loud moan as he jerked himself a few times, whispering Keith’s name. He messily thumbed the slit with the pad of his thumb and whimpered. His hand sped up and he just thought of the sultry look Keith would have, staring up at him as he deepthroated Lance’s cock. It didn’t take long before Lance was bucking into his hand, a moaning mess.

 

“Oh god- _sí, sí, sí!”_ Lance gasped. “ _Keith!”_ He came hard, panting and shaking. Lance let his head fall back, chest heaving. He rinsed his hands in the water and covered his face, sinking to his knees in shame. His head drooped and he sighed. Lance crawled out of the shower, nearly falling and banging his shin on the side of the tub before shouting a curse, and half heartedly dried off. Almost immediately after, he clambered into bed dressed in just a pair of sweatpants and buried his face in the pillows, muttering curses and nearly screaming when he started to feel the tight coil of arousal in his lower half, yet again. It wasn’t a surprise when he awoke during the middle of the night with a mess in his pants and Keith’s name on his lips.

 

~

 

There were voices. People in Lance’s room. He slowly came to consciousness and the garbled sounds turned into words.

 

“-and I heard Princess Allura say she caught them kissing in the hall!” _Oh no._

 

“Yeah, she said they were getting-”

 

“EW!”

 

“Okay, but I saw him, and he was so pretty! Long black hair and dark eyes.” A cackle. “Didn’t know that was Lance’s type.”

 

His eyes cracked open and he could see his younger sister, Leila, signing. It took him a minute for his brain to catch up before he realized what she was saying.

 

“ _His name sign is gonna be like,”_ She made a waving motion down her head while her fingers spelled ‘L’ and grinned. “ _Or should it be more like Lance’s?”_

 

Lance groaned and brought up his hands to tell her, “ _No, child, why are you talking about him? And his name sign should definitely be something like…”_ Lance gave a grimace and crossed his arms over his chest. Leila laughed, so did the other kids.

 

“ _Too bad! I get to choose and I say it’s,”_ She made the waving at her head again, then stuck out her tongue. “ _What was his name?”_

 

Lance rolled his eyes and finger spelled it. “ _K-E-I-T-H.”_ He laughed. “ _Synonymous to broody and emo.”_  Jordan joined the conversation.

 

“ _He didn’t look very broody yesterday…”_ Lance groaned and leaned back, covering his eyes. Keith chose the perfect moment to show up for work. The door practically slammed open, and the alluring scent of breakfast wafted into his room.

 

“Lance! Wake up!” Keith walked up the steps to Lance’s bed and stumbled a bit. He muttered a curse and ducked his head. “My apologies, Highness’s. I didn’t know you were visiting.” His voice was soft, docile. Lance hated it.

 

“ _Pour Dios_ , Keith, I said you didn’t need to do that!” Leila looked questioningly at her twin, Marcos, not having seen Keith’s lips, or having caught what Lance had said. “Shit, sorry Leila.” He quickly filled her in before turning back to Keith. “Babe, you have to look over here when you speak, Leila can’t read your lips if you’re bowed.” Keith stood up, eyes questioning. Leila grinned.

 

“I’m deaf, soon to be brother-in-law.” Lance slapped at her arm, making a sign that his mother glared at him for. She laughed at the uncomfortable look on Keith’s face. How had he forgotten? Lance had told him about her deafness and sign language. He held back a groan. “Just make sure to look at me, and maybe Lance should give you some _lessons_ in sign language.” She wiggled her eyebrows on the word ‘lessons’ and Lance gasped, shoving at her. His fingers moved rapidly. Keith could guess he was chastising her for the dirty joke. Lance made grabbing hands at Keith, and the boy was reminded they were putting up a farce. Keith bent out and pressed a soft kiss to Lance’s lips, ignoring the disgusted sounds from his siblings.

 

“Keith, this is my Mama, and my many, many siblings.” He said. “That’s Jordan,” A boy a bit shorter than Lance with dark brown eyes, but otherwise a carbon-copy of the crown prince. “Leila and Marcos are twins,” the two had matching dark hair and glinting eyes with curls wrapping around their ears and at the back of their necks, and that beautiful dark brown skin that they shared with their mother.

 

“Maria, Jackie, and Callie is the baby, I guess she got left in her crib during this intrusive outing.” Maria looked more like the king than any of the other children, with lighter skin and bright blue eyes, like Lance’s, and her curls escaping the tight ponytail she’d pulled them up into. A quick look around the room and Keith realized all of the children had received those curls. His head whipped around to look at Lance and he let out a loud gasp.

 

“You have curly hair!” and sure enough, Lance’s normally straight brown hair was out of place and frizzed up into little ringlets. He blushed, and tried to smooth them out.

 

“Only in the morning…” He murmured, pulling gently at his hair. Keith swatted at his hands.

 

“I love them.” He grinned. A collective ‘aw’ came from around the room and the two blushed. Keith was even more embarrassed to realize he really meant it.

 

Lance’s mother smiled softly, her dark eyes watching them. “When I first met Sebastien, he said the same thing.” Keith’s heart jumped a bit at that.

 

“Okay, _hijos vamos._ ” Lance’s mother shooed the kids off of Lance’s bed and stood herself. “Keith, it’s nice to meet you. I’m Amada.” She had a warm, rich accent that was obviously faded from time, with only small hints on a few words. She had held out her hand and Keith stared at it for a moment too long before shaking it gently.

 

“Nice to meet you.” He smiled gently, attempting to assuage the cold dread in shooting down his spine. These were kind, welcoming people, and he was lying to them. Tricking them. Thoughts of the arranged marriage Lance was going to be forced into if he bowed out assaulted his mind and he pursed his lips, watching as Amada ushered the children out the door. She sent a soft smile over her shoulder at Keith, and a look at Lance that he rolled his eyes to.

 

“Oh! Before I forget. Keith, you are your brother are to come to dinner tonight.” Amada spoke in a no-nonsense tone, ordering him to dinner instead of asking, really living up to her Queen title.

 

“Ma’am-”

 

“Don’t call me ma’am. My name is Amanda.” She looked at him expectantly.

 

“Amada. My brother and I don’t own any clothes nearly fanciful enough for a dinner with royalty.”

 

“Lance can get you something, can’t he?” Amada looked to her son who nodded quickly.

 

“Easy peasy lemon squeezy, Mama.” He grinned, clambering out of bed. Keith blushed, but remembered who was paying his paycheck every two weeks and felt more at ease. “Alrighty, Keith let’s get you all dressed up.” Lance slid out of bed and walked across the room,  throwing open the doors to his wardrobe. “Is red okay?” He spoke as he grabbed at a shirt that was probably more expensive than every piece of Keith’s clothing combined.

 

“Yeah…” His voice was unintentionally high, and cracked. Lance turned to look back at him.

 

“Keith. It’s just dinner. They’re going to love you. It’ll be fine.” Lance reassured Keith. The latter nodded hastily and pulled off his shirt, taking the silky red one and sliding it over his head. Shucking off his shoes, he accepted the black leggings from Lance and dropped his own pants on the floor. He nearly fell over trying to pull them on. Lance laughed and did what he could to help.

 

“Those are like my only pair of black ones so please don’t ruin them.” He pursed his lips and adjusted the shirt so it was tucked loosely into the soft leggings. “Now we just hope that we’re the same shoe size.” Lance pulled a pair of black shoes from his wardrobe and held them out. “You won’t be so short for once!”

 

Keith rolled his eyes. “I’m barely an inch shorter than you.” Lance grinned and turned back to grab his own clothes. White leggings with a blue top and silver lining plus boots to match. Simple, but effective. He looked like royalty.

 

“And now the finishing touch.” Lance grabbed Keith’s hand and strode over to a portrait on the wall. He pushed it to the side and opened a door Keith hadn’t known was there.

 

“There’s a whole network of tunnels through the castle. I use them a lot.” Lance explained as they walked through the dimly lit corridor. Keith refrained from mentioning he was aware of the tunnels, having used them a few times. They exited through a similarly hidden door and entered a room full of jewelry. A table with ten crowns, varying in size and complexity, sat in the middle of it.

 

Lance selected a few bangles before walking to the table of crowns and picking up one of the more simple ones. A silver band that curved into a point over Lance’s brow decorated with one blue gem pressed into the metal. Then, he turned and leaned against the table.

 

“You know, if we really got married you would have a room just like this. Crowns and everything.”

 

Keith was admiring a jewel encrusted blade in the corner. He glanced over his shoulder. “But why so many?”

“I’m not sure. I guess as royalty, we have to show off our riches?” Lance shrugged. “Let the staff know we’re important.” Keith rolled his eyes at that.

 

“So, since you don’t want to marry princess Allura, did you have someone else in mind?” Keith questioned.

 

“Not particularly. I mean I’d rather marry a guy, but that’s just my preference in people. All I’ve ever wanted was to marry for love like my parents did.” Keith’s cheeks heated.

 

“You prefer guys?”

 

“Yeah, I’m bi. What about you?”

 

“Just gay.” His voice was quiet but echoed around the room.

 

“ _But I don’t like you like that!”_ Lance thought.

 

“ _But I don’t like you like that!”_ Keith thought.

 

Lance forced out a little laugh. “Well that’s cool. Here let’s get you some bling.” He grabbed a hair pin made to look like flames and carefully pulled Keith’s long hair into a bun, complete with the pin.

 

Their faces were close, and Lance’s eyes flickered between Keith’s dark eyes and his parted lips. He almost started to lean in…

 

Both jerked away, faces red and nearly falling over.

 

“Well we should probably get going, I have some paperwork and stuff to do before dinner.” Keith nodded.

 

“ _No one was around… And we almost kissed… Oh no… “_

 

_~_

 

Keith’s palm was sweaty against Lance’s as they walked through the door to the dining hall. The soft silk of his red dress shirt moved breezily against his skin and, for once in his life, Keith didn’t feel underdressed. His clothes were simple but incredibly luxurious and he felt quite pretentious. How did Lance do this every day? His clothes on most days were far grander than the bit he was wearing right now, but Lance always seemed at ease.

 

 _He grew up with it_ , a voice whispered in his ear. Keith held in a sigh and was alarmed at the sight before him. His stomach growled embarrassingly loud at the table spread.

 

Mouthwatering roasted chicken with sides of mash potatoes and gravy, fresh green beans, and some other delicious looking foods Keith couldn't even name were set across the long table. Not to mention the entire family, along with Allura, her adviser Coran, and Shiro were all already sitting at the table. Everyone stood to welcome them, and Keith’s pale skin flushed a bright red. Shiro raised an eyebrow at him, stifling a grin. His worry subsided as Lance gave his hand a gentle squeeze, and a soft look out of the corner of his eye.

 

He was pulled to their reserved seats, between Shiro and Leila, and only when Lance murmured, ‘You may be seated,’ did the group sink back into the lavish chairs.

 

Keith gave a confused look to Lance.

 

“As future King, I kind of have more power and status than the current King.” He whispered into Keith’s ear and pressed a soft, deceiving kiss to the side of his head. The other people at the table would perceive it as loving, but Keith knew the truth. He knew it was an act and that he was lying to all of these people, except Pidge and Hunk.

 

He took a shaky breath and looked around. “My compliments to the chef, this all looks incredible.” Keith was thankful his voice was steady, but he nearly fell out of his chair when he glanced at Lance and found him staring right back with a fond expression. He could see Lance’s hands interpreting what he’d said and felt guilty. He would really need to get some lessons if he was going to be around Leila a lot and, from the looks of things, he would be. The guilt was back full force, like ice as it raced up and down his spine. Could he really do this? And for how long?

 

This dinner was going to be hell.

  


As Keith quickly realized King Sebastian adored Shiro.

 

He wasn’t sure if it was the respectful aura that always surrounded Shiro, or maybe that stupidly happy smile of his or even the obvious fact he was interested in the princess Allura.

 

Yeah he wasn’t fooling anyone with those little side glances and _was he blushing?_

  


Lance, on the other hand, had his eyes elsewhere.

 

Namely on Keith.

 

Watching his surprised little smiles as each new course was brought out, foods Lance knew he’d never seen before, and the adoring looks at his brother, who was eating better than they ever had before. Lance’s heart stuttered a little as a few pieces of Keith’s hair slipped out of the bun Lance had previously pulled it into, and framed his face. He looked breathtaking, Lance thought, in his soft red dress shirt. Keith fit into his family like he’d always been there, and Lance couldn’t deny how happy that made him. He remembered to look at Leila when he spoke, he was polite to Lance’s parents, he teased his siblings…

 

Lance really liked Keith. He _liked_ Keith.

 

The food Lance had been chewing was suddenly lodged in his throat.

 

He pounded on his chest, waving off the concerned looks from his family.  A soft hand rubbed his back gently, and Lance’s eyes shifted to look at Keith, finding him looking right back with a worried frown. Lance finally got the food to go down and let out a rasping breath.

 

His face flushed red when he looked around and was greeted by a dozen alarmed staff members and his family all half out of their chairs to help him.

 

“I’m okay.” Lance murmured, taking Keith’s hand from his back and holding it in his lap; the softest smile on his face.

 

_‘I like him.’_

 

_‘I like Keith.’_

 

He was so screwed.

  


“Oh man I don’t think I can eat another bite…” Lance leaned back in his chair, rubbing his stomach and signing one handed. “So much food.”  He slung an arm around Keith’s shoulders and whispered to him, “Do you want to take some of the left overs home? There’s plenty and I wouldn’t want it to go to waste.” Keith nodded, a small smile on his lips at the thought of eating this food for the next week. Lance gently pressed his forehead to Keith’s cheekbone, his eyes fluttering shut.

A collective ‘aww’ echoed around the room, and both boys flushed, pulling back a bit.

 

“It’s getting pretty late, Lance.” His father murmured, receiving a nod in return.

 

“Shiro, it was great having you here, we’ll definitely need to do this again soon.” Lance smiled. “You both should probably get going, I wouldn’t want to keep you too long.” He sounded almost regretful. He was. He didn’t want Keith to go. He wanted to go kiss Keith until his lips fell off. He _liked_ Keith.

 

Shiro nodded and stood, motioning for Keith. Lance’s family stood as well and said their farewells. Keith and Lance stood back a bit from the small crowd and spoke quietly.

 

“It really was nice having you guys here for dinner, the kids love you.” Lance said.

 

“It was nice being here. That was the best food we’ve probably ever had.” Keith replied. Lance grinned.

 

“I’ll tell the chef you said so.” Keith laughed. Lance glanced down at his soft lips. His heart did a little flop in his chest. He leaned in without really thinking about it, and was happy to feel hands wrap around his waist as he cradled Keith’s face. The kiss only lasted a few seconds, but when they pulled away he instead rested his forehead against Keith’s, staying in the intimate embrace. Guilt wracked Lance when he remembered this was fake, that Keith didn’t have feelings for him and was only doing it for the extra pay and food.

 

 _‘And because he’s your friend._ ’ A voice whispered in his head. Lance’s eyes slid open and he pressed one more soft, chaste kiss to Keith’s lips before pulling fully away.

 

“Goodnight.”

  
  


Princess Allura left for her home country briefly after the dinner, having stayed a few extra weeks to spend more time with her new friend, Shiro, who had come up to the castle with Keith almost every day to see her.

 

Lance guessed they would be engaged within the year.

 

Keith bet six months, at the most.

 

Lance grudgingly agreed it would be closer to six months, due to the fact Allura had given Shiro an address so they could write.

 

But, now that the immediate threat of marriage was gone, Keith’s resolve for this fake relationship was disintegrating.

 

“Okay, but she’s gone now so we can stop doing this!”

 

“Who's to say my Dad won’t just bring her right back? And we can’t just _stop doing this,_ Keith.” Lance put his hands on his forehead, pushing at his short bangs. “We have to be careful. I’d like you to be able to keep your job after this. Or get a new one if it’s what you want.” Keith’s eyes widened with realization. Lance didn’t mention the fact he didn’t _want_ to stop faking the relationship, since he knew it was the closest thing he’d ever get to a real one with Keith.

 

Keith wiped his sweaty palms on his pants, turning away from Lance. He was in way too deep. Half in love with the prince, fake dating him to save him from a loveless marriage, and stuck in this relationship until further notice to keep his job. What had he gotten himself into?

 

“Okay, how about we just wait until Allura gets engaged. Simple enough, should be pretty soon since she’s a princess and has a line of suitors a mile long. And after that we can figure out the break-up part.” Lance suggests, falling backwards onto his bed and sighing. Keith sits down next to him, pulling a leg up and resting his head on his knee. Lance throws an arm over his eyes. “Almost forgot! Good old Dad is throwing a ball.” Keith raised an eyebrow.

 

“A ball?”

 

“Yeah, a giant dance, where half the world is invited. All in honor of me _finding love_.” Lance sat up and began to fumble with the buttons on his sweater. A noise of frustration had Keith reaching over to do it for him. He gently pushed Lance’s hands away and deftly undid the white clasps, a soft smile on his face.

 

“Well, I don’t have a clue how to dance so I’m not sure how that’s going to go.” Keith looked up, a little smirk on his face. It quickly dropped when he noticed the extreme proximity of their faces, their lips. Lance’s face was bright red and his mouth hung open a bit. His hands were in the same position that Keith had previously moved them to.

 

Keith blinked a bit before scrambling backwards. “Sorry! That was a total invasion of personal space-” Lance shook his head and waved his hands.

 

“No! No, it’s fine!” Lance spluttered. “Invade all you want!” His eyes widened. “I mean-” Keith burst out laughing, falling backwards and clutching his stomach.

 

“ _I can’t believe you just said that!”_ He wheezed. “ _Holy shit_ .” Lance smiled, watching Keith laugh. His eyes were shut tightly, and hair splayed around. His shirt rode up a bit to reveal soft pale skin, and _hot damn Lance needed water like right now._ Lance scooted off the bed, dropping his sweater off his shoulders and turning. Keith looked up at him, arms folded behind his head and that delicious strip of skin still exposed. Lance forced his eyes to stay on Keith’s face as he held out a hand.

 

“May I have this dance?” He spoke in the most pretentious and cocky voice he could. Keith raised an eyebrow, lips pulled into a half-smirk. “Someone told me that you have no dancing experience. And it would be my pleasure to teach you.” Keith snorted and took his hand, letting Lance pull him up and against him. Keith blushed a bit as Lance rearranged his arms.

 

“So, what dance’s will I be learning, Your Highness?” Keith asked, and swallowed hard when Lance flushed and smiled, his heart hammering away against his ribcage.

 

“Just a simple waltz, I think.” Lance murmured, before jumping into the steps. Keith caught on fast and kept up easily as they spun around the room. They switched up on leading, and Lance even taught him some spins. His hands were a constant on Keith’s shoulder, waist, and his own hand. His heart was beating fast, and not just from the dancing.

 

Eventually they slowed down, Lance leaning his head on Keith’s shoulder. “This is nice.” He whispered, swaying gently as they rotated. Keith nodded mutely. Lance took a small breath before leaning back and taking a chance. _Shit, shit okay really doing this, wowowowow-_ his lips had just barely brushed Keith’s when the bedroom door flung open and they staggered apart.

 

Lance’s father stood on the threshold, leaning on the doorjamb with a small smile. “Sorry to interrupt what I’m guessing was an invigorating dance lesson.” Lance groaned, burying his face in his hands. Keith stood there, eyes wide with shock, _that was almost a kiss_ and Keith knew there was no way Lance had been aware they were about to be busted in on. “Lance, I need your opinion on something. There’s been a significant drop in the job market in commoners and we need to find a way to create some new jobs.” Lance nodded and looked thoughtful for a moment.

 

“You know… Keith,” Lance turned to look at him, ignoring his still dumbfounded look and bright red cheeks. “You’re a commoner, you know how things work. Any idea’s on the best way to create more jobs?” Keith made a small noise and crossed his arms over his chest.

 

“Uhh well most places want people with experience and an education, but an education is really expensive… So I guess, lower higher education prices?” Lance shifted to look back at his father.

 

“I think that’s a really good idea.” He beamed, and the King nodded.

 

“Thank you, Keith. It was good to get your perspective.” He smiled gently at the boy. “ Nice seeing you again, son.” Keith’s head snapped up and all the blood drained from his face.

 

“Y-yeah, you too, Sir…” He stammered out, eyes dropping to the floor. The door shut with a definitive click. Lance turned to look at Keith, his tongue sliding over his bottom lip before his teeth pulled the flesh back. His eyes were panicked, doubts swirling around in his brain.

 

These doubts were quickly removed when Keith flung his arms around Lance’s neck, their bodies pressed roughly together as he smashed their lips together, _finally_.

 

They didn’t talk. They didn’t do anything but kiss and kiss and _kiss_. Standing, sitting on the bed, laying down, they just kissed and kissed.

 

Later, they would figure out what this was. Later they would talk about their guilt from the lying.

 

Later.

 

Keith went home late that night, having tried leaving several time but dragged back in for more kisses. He couldn’t get enough. They didn’t talk, simply said soft goodbyes and exchanged heated looks before Keith shut the door and leaned against it, hands covering his face. _What just happened?!_

 

_~_

 

They didn’t speak about what had happened, not the next day or the day after. They did, however, repeat it. Keith had slammed into the room to wake Lance, as per usual, then strode up to the bed with the intent of gently shaking his shoulder and coercing him to get up and sign some paperwork that was at least three days late. But, things often do not go as planned, and when Keith’s hand touched Lance’s shoulder, an arm flew up and pulled the boy down by his neck, warm lips pressed flush against his own.

 

The two had lay there kissing for far longer than they should have.

 

~

 

“Lance, we need to talk.” Keith said, inbetween kisses.

 

“I’d much rather continue doing this,” Lance said and stroked his tongue along the roof of Keith’s mouth, pulling a low moan from him and pushing their hips together.

 

“It’s,” _moan._ “It’s about this.” He was panting very heavily and quickly losing any resolve he had to discuss it. Lance knew this. He rutted up one more time, drawing a long, keening whine from Keith, before resting his hands on those sharp hips and pulling his head back a bit. A soft smile pulled at his lips when Keith’s chased after his for a moment.

 

“What, specifically, about this?” Lance murmured, reaching up to push a strand of hair behind Keith’s ear. His face was flushed, and there was a bit of spit trailing down his chin, and even though anyone would say he looked like a complete mess, the only word that came to Lance’s mind was _beautiful._

 

“What are we doing, Lance?” He asked, voice soft and eyes searching.

 

“I believe we were kissing…” Lance mumbled, looking down at the position they were in. Lance sat on his enormous bed with Keith straddling his waist, while his own knees were drawn up for the latter to lean on. They were folded together like puzzle pieces. _A lovers embrace_ , was what he would call this. Keith cradled Lance’s face in his hands, forcing the prince to look up at him.

 

“Do you have feelings for me?” Blue eyes met violet ones. A shaky nod. A question. “Me too,” Keith barely got the words out before slotting their lips together, and gasping quietly as Lance fell back, pulling him down too.

 

A loud moan fell from both of them when Keith slid forward and slowly grinded against Lance. “I don’t want this relationship to be fake anymore, Keith.” Lance whispered as his fingers threaded through soft black locks. “I want it to be real. I want to take you on cute dates and give you flowers and kiss you all the damn time.” He pressed their foreheads together. “I’m falling in love with you.”

 

“I want all of that,” Keith whispered, stealing a chaste kiss. “I’m falling in love with you too.” He rolled his hips gently, raising an eyebrow in question. Lance replied with a drawn out moan and a jerky nod, pressing up while grabbing at Keith’s mussed up shirt.

 

“Wanna touch you,” Lance murmured, eyes half lidded as they raked over the body in front of him. Keith nodded his consent and hissed as he rubbed their growing erections together again. Shaky fingers pulled at the front of Keith’s shirt, unbuttoning it and pushing it over his shoulders. Lance ran his tongue along his collarbone, going down, down, and he sucked a small hickey right over Keith’s heart before flicking the wet organ over his nipple.

 

Keith arched his back, pushing harder against Lance and keening; his fingers grabbing roughly at Lance’s hair. The latter continued his assault against the small nub in front of him until Keith was sobbing and rutting unevenly against him, precome drenching his underwear. He shoved halfheartedly until Lance was in a similar state of undress and brought his trembling hands to the front of his trousers. Looking up to Lance for permission before yanking the button open and pulling the pants down his legs.

 

Within a few moments both were naked and had taken just a bit to admire their partner. Lance had decided to revise his previous thought. Keith wasn’t beautiful. He was absolutely breathtaking. And Lance told him so. He was happy to learn just how low that blush went.

 

“Shut up, you’re fucking gorgeous,” Keith mumbled and kissed Lance gently. Then, he went to work. Well aware his own neck and chest were covered in hickeys and bruises, Keith returned the favor and brought them down, on Lance’s stomach and hip bones then on his thighs, dangerously close to his cock.

 

Lance was squirming and shaking and whimpering, hands grabbing at the sheets as he watched Keith put his lips everywhere but where Lance wanted them. “Keith…” He whined, rutting his hips in a failed attempt to get some kind of friction. Keith just lazily sucked another hickey onto his thigh and devoured the sight in front of him with hungry eyes.

 

“Tell me what you want Lance,” He whispered, breath fanning out in front of him. Lance choked out a moan, his brain struggling to form a sentence. “Come on, use your words.”

 

“ _Coññoo, Keith, please!”_ Lance sobbed, hips writhing. Keith smirked and dropped his mouth over Lance’s length, swallowing twice and breathing through his nose, which was pressed against Lance’s stomach. He really hoped the guards didn’t come running in, because Lance shrieked like he was dying and came down Keith’s throat with a jumble of incomprehensible words falling from his lips.

 

Keith had reached between his own legs and jerked himself a few times before coming, the sight of Lance falling apart getting him off more than anything. He pulled off of Lance’s softening cock and grinned up at the shaking prince, propped up on his elbows to gape at Keith and nearly swallowing his own tongue at the boy, resting his head on a hickey covered thigh.

 

“Good?”

 

“ _Sìììììììììììììì.”_ Lance groaned and fell backwards, arms flung over his eyes. Keith was sitting up and about to go get a washcloth to clean up the mess they had made when Lance let out a noise of surprise and sat up. “Wait! You didn’t-” Keith rolled his eyes, leaning down and cutting Lance off with a kiss.

 

“Yes I did.” Lance looked bewildered. “I told you, you’re fucking gorgeous.”

 

“ _Ay Dios._ ” Was all the prince said as he fell back on the bed, covering his eyes once more while Keith went for the washcloth.

 

~

 

Keith pressed soft, adoring kisses to Lance’s stomach as he wiped the come off. Then, out of pure curiosity, he ran a fingernail gently down Lance’s side. To his delight, the prince squealed and tried to scramble away.

 

“Keith! Don’t you dare!” Keith grinned and threw himself over Lance’s torso and went to work tickling him until he was in tears and his chest heaving. “I could have you arrested!” He hissed.

 

“But you won’t,” Keith snickered and grabbed Lance’s face to sloppily kiss him, beaming all the while.

 

~

 

The ball Lance’s father was throwing happened a week after Keith and Lance pulled their heads outta their asses and made their relationship real. It was over the top and took place in the largest ballroom in the castle.

 

The two had managed to get caught being ‘inappropriate’, as Lance’s mother called them making out with some heavy petting, in just about every room in the castle. Keith had received a few talks from Lance’s siblings and Pidge had complained about having to turn off cameras and microphones after being scarred.

 

That one was particularly embarrassing.

 

But now, they were at the ball, and Lance couldn’t have taken his eyes off Keith if he wanted to. He was dressed in new boots, black leggings, and a stunning red tailcoat with gold embroidery over a matching waistcoat. Lance could see little golden flourishes on his pant legs and near the soles of Keith’s boots.

 

What really got Lance was Keith’s face. His hair had been pulled into a small ponytail with little strands left down to frame his _fuckin’ gorgeous_ face. His cheeks, once hollow and sunken, had filled out and were full of color. His eyes shined and sparkled with excitement. His goddamned smile had Lance _swooning._

 

Not that he looked too shabby either, with a blue and silver sleeveless tunic hitting the mid-thigh of his white leggings. He wore one of the more extravagant crowns, this one twisting and turning like vines, bringing the strands of gold to an sharp tip, adorned with sapphires and kyanite.

 

Lance entered the ballroom last, watching as hundreds of people dropped into bows and curtseys. Including Keith, which was just unacceptable. The prince walked swiftly, short heels clicking on the marble floor, to his lover and tapped his chin upwards.

 

“Now haven’t we talked about this? You never have to bow to me, Mullet,” Lance murmured, a soft smile tugging his lips upwards. In full view of every person of importance for thousands of miles, Lance kissed Keith passionately, tugging him closer by the lapels of that damn tailcoat, then pulled him backwards, out towards the dancefloor. “Rise, my friends and family, for the night has just begun!” He laughed and twirled a smiling Keith before yanking him close, slipping past his subjects.

 

He was never letting go.

 

~

 

Lance had a very good time taking Keith out of those damned coats that night, leaving wet kisses and bruises in their place. The prince pushed his lover onto the bed, before dropping to his knees and spreading those toned legs, he pulled Keith’s cheeks apart and started licking him like a man on a mission.

 

His tongue set Keith on fire, pulling loud moans and whimpers and gasps from that pretty mouth. Lance held tightly to the shaking legs wrapped around his head and went to work, opening Keith up with his mouth and fingers. Lance scissored his index and middle digits inside Keith before sliding his tongue in alongside and humming. The vibrations had Keith screaming and sobbing, his toes curling as he came, the first of many times that night.

 

Lance continued, drawing more cries from Keith until one orgasm bled into the next, before pulling back and sliding up to kiss him, to wipe away the stray tears and grab lube from the nightstand.

 

Keith watched him with hungry eyes, murmuring soft affirmations and twisting his fingers in the sheets. He realized with a bit of amusement that he had torn the silk and anyone who saw would probably know exactly what had caused it.

 

Lance noticed briefly how painfully hard he was as he reached down to slick up his cock with lube, and had a bit of a laugh at how distracted he had been. Tossing the small jar aside, he leaned over Keith and kissed him languidly, hands trailing up and down his sides, sliding over sensitive nipples and pressing on bruises as he slid against Keith’s stretched rim, the head catching lightly but not quite entering.

 

“Lance, I swear to god, _if you do not hurry the fuck up,”_ Keith seethed. “ _I will flip you over and ride you till you cry.”_ His fingernails dug into Lance’s shoulders, pulling him closer, and scratched long marks down the prince’s back.

 

Lance let out a soft moan, murmuring “Yeah, yeah,” and hefting one of Keith’s legs over his shoulder and positioned himself, sliding into the exquisite heat with ease. The two let out matching moans as he bottomed out. Keith shifted, clenching gently and adjusting his hips, before Lance pulled back and thrust in once, lazily, drawing a loud keen from Keith. He did it again, once, twice, before Keith was hot and desperate.

 

“ _Lance!_ ” He uses the leg not thrown over Lance’s shoulder to press his heel into the small of his back, pushing him deeper. “Lance, please!” Keith grabbed at his face for a kiss, sobbing as Lance started snapping his hips hard and his cock pressed into that sweet spot that made Keith’s vision white out.

 

“Found it,” Lance mumbled before shifting a bit to ensure he would be hitting Keith’s prostate hard with every thrust, he moved at a merciless speed, despite the strain it put on his thighs. Keith shrieked and thrashed and sobbed before coming untouched, all over their stomachs. He clenched down hard around Lance’s cock, and the prince quickly followed him to climax.

 

Lance pulled out, wincing slightly, before grabbing the wipes they kept next to the bed and cleaning Keith’s thighs and insides. He drew the blankets up around them, knowing full well they would only rest for a bit before going again, and peppered soft, adoring kisses all over Keith’s face.

 

“I’m probably in love with you,” Lance whispered.

 

“I’m probably in love with you too,” Keith replied and pressed a kiss to the tip of the prince’s nose.

 

“Stay with me forever.”

 

“Happily.”

 

_~fin~_

 

**Author's Note:**

> Art by the amazing  
> Mint : http://feedthemintless.tumblr.com/  
> Lindsey: crafty-scrafty.tumblr.com  
> Please go give them some love because they did such a great job and I love the art so much.
> 
> Special thanks to everyone that went through and beta'd for me!


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